While work-related events, award ceremonies, and parties take you outside the pressure of the office, there’s the stress to perform and represent yourself well. You could be interacting with potential clients or discussing important details of a business deal. To stay mentally sharp and clear, you have to be on top of your game and that means getting enough sleep.Why Focus on Sleep? Lack of sleep changes how different areas of the brain function. Theprefrontal cortex, the area of the brain primarily responsible for higher level cognitive functions, becomes less active when sleep deprived. That can make difficult to use logical reasoning or complex problem-solving. Sleep deprivation also affects concentration, memory, and mathematical abilities, all of which may be necessary during a work-related event.

Reasoning abilities aren’t the only way that sleep deprivation affects behavior. During sleep deprivation, theamygdala, the portion of the brain that processes emotions, becomes more sensitive to negative thoughts and stimuli. These changes can lead to irritability and mood changes that can reflect badly on an employee or the company for which he works.

Lack of sleep is also a productivity andsafety issue. Impaired judgment can lead to accidents and costly mistakes. Events from the Exxon Valdez oil spill to the Challenger disaster havelinks back to sleep-deprived employees. While attending an event while drowsy may not put your life at risk, without adequate sleep your career could stagnate or even stop in its tracks.

How Stress Affects Sleep Though sleep is a natural biological function, it can be elusive at times, especially if you’re under a lot of stress. With the pressure of a big event looming overhead, you might find yourself dealing withsymptoms of chronic stress like:

Insomnia

Social withdrawal

Emotional outbursts

Lack of motivation

Inability to concentrate or focus

The truth is – sleep can help reduce your stress. By focusing on getting a consecutive seven to eight hours of sleep, you give your brain and body a chance to normalize while you put your best foot forward.

How to Improve the Quality (and Quantity) of Your Sleep A few ways you can help yourself get more high-quality sleep include:

Remove Distractions: Distractions in the bedroom can keep your mind turning late into the night. Try turning off the ringer on your phone or even better charge it outside of your bedroom. Lights from other electronic devices like televisions or Blu-ray players can also cause wakefulness. You can either remove them from the bedroom or put electrical tape over the light to prevent a sleep disruption.

Make Comfort a Priority: A mattress that supports your preferred sleep style can help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer. Mattress reviews may help you determine which bed is best for you. Bedding that’s made of natural materials like cotton or linen breathe well to prevent overheating and get softer over time for increased comfort.

Keep the Room Dark: Natural light signals and controls your body’s sleep-wake cycle. To help your brain know when to release sleep hormones, try to keep your bedroom as dark as possible. That may mean blackout curtains or heavy drapes to block out light pollution.

Turn Off Electronics: You might want to go over a proposal or client profile one more time before going to bed. However, thebright blue light given off by some electronics including laptops and smartphones can suppress the release of sleep hormones. Turn off your devices at least two to three hours before bed to prevent a delay in the onset of sleep.​

With adequate sleep, you can relax and enjoy your company’s big event. You can shake hands with confidence knowing you’re mentally prepared and emotionally set to represent your company well.

You probably know that peak wedding season runs from about April until October. However, more couples are choosing off-peak weddings for a variety of reasons. Here are the top 5 reasons we think it’s great to get married in the winter:

Availability

With fewer people getting married in a given season, it stands to reason that ceremony sites, reception venues, florists, DJs, bands, photographers, and any other vendors that service weddings will have more availability than during peak season. This means that you have a good chance of getting your first choice of date and time, as well as the reception room of your choice, if your venue offers multiple spaces. With fewer clients to juggle at once, you may also get a little more personal attention from your service providers and possibly faster turn-around on contracts, responses to questions, and even getting your completed wedding album back.

Budget-friendlyWhile your dream venue or photographer may be out of reach financially during other seasons, there’s a good chance that they offer special pricing during the winter months. A winter deal could be a monetary discount, or it could mean you receive an upgraded package for the base package amount. Each vendor and venue handles the off-peak season differently, but you are likely to save money or get more bang for your buck during the winter months.

Decorated spacesWhen you tour potential venues, ask them how they decorate for the holiday season. Depending on the type of venue, the decorations could be in the entry way or public spaces, or even in the private reception room where your reception will be held. Any decorations will help set the scene for your special day and should come at no cost to you, although you may want to ask to see photos of the décor to make sure it goes along with your aesthetic vision.Fewer weather concernsIf you’re getting married in a location that gets a lot of snow, such as where we are in Central New York, there is a chance that a major snowstorm could cause some issues. But short of flight delays and road conditions, the weather won’t affect your actual plans in quite the same way because your wedding is already planned for inside. Couples who hold outdoor weddings in warmer seasons have to anticipate a host of weather-related possibilities: fierce winds blowing tents, tables, and chairs all around, rain washing out the ceremony, or extreme heat and sun that could not only make guests and the wedding party feel ill, but hairdos are more likely to wilt and makeup slide off.

The more the merrierMany of us have been in the situation where we’ve been invited to two weddings in the same month, or even the same weekend, and sometimes we’ve had to choose between them. When your wedding date falls outside the peak season, your guests will have fewer other weddings that conflict. And because they won’t be coming off a bunch of other weddings in a short period, your wedding will stand out a bit more and they’ll be in the mood to celebrate.If you need help planning the perfect winter wedding (or a celebration in any season), we’d love to help!

]]>Thu, 07 Sep 2017 04:00:00 GMThttp://www.theeventscompany.com/blog/waddington-summer-market-and-beyond​What’s lovelier than a day trip to check out a popup market full of independent artists and makers in a quaint riverside village? Not much!

The Waddington Summer Market (one of our latest projects) featured home goods, fashion, art, and food from more than 30 Northern and Central New York small businesses. Most of these businesses don’t have brick-and-mortar stores, so participating in the market gave them a chance to connect with their community and it provided a chance for locals and visitors to check them out in person.

We're thrilled to share that the response has been so positive and the sales so successful that the market is now going to be open year-round permanent shop and artist studio. We're working on re-branding the market and consolidating the websites and social media (previously they were separated by their summer and winter seasonal names) to reflect this new change. The new name will be Waddington Marketplace and Studios at Clark House.

​Waddington, NY is about 2.5 hours north of Syracuse (where we are), situated on the St. Lawrence River. The Clark House, the market's location, is an historic building undergoing renovation and a preservation campaign. The Clark House was constructed in the 1800s when Waddington was the industrial hub of St. Lawrence County, boasting numerous mills, shops, restaurants, and taverns. The Clark House served as one of Waddington’s stagecoach stops and was a popular destination for residents, travelers, and businessmen. It was the structural and social anchor of Waddington’s downtown, a place where people stayed, ate, and met socially with their neighbors. In recent decades, a vacant Clark House fell into a state of serious disrepair.

​We’ve been working closely with the participating business owners, the Clark House Preservation committee, ANCA (Adirondack North Country Association), and the St. Lawrence Chamber of Commerce to create this market, drawing people to Waddington to revitalize the economy there and give the Clark House new purpose.

The Waddington Summer Market was an early step in the overall goal of making the Clark House and the village of Waddington into a hub for arts and events in the North Country. The St. Lawrence Arts Council's goal is to turn the building into an artist co-op with gallery and shop space on the first floor and studio space above and with the extension of the marketplace into a permanent shop, they are closer to achieving that goal. By keeping our marketplace there, it helps people visualize the space being used in that way so they can see the potential for both the building and the community.​

We took our team there on September 1 for a visit (and some delicious savory crepes at Artworks Creperie) and we met artist Cheryl Spadaccini who has been managing the store. We were excited to see all the products (we might have come home with a few goodies) and think about the potential for the permanent space. To learn more, visit the market's website for hours and more details. ​

For the last three and a half years, lead planner and project manager Alyssa Kessler has been a major asset to our company. In addition to planning and producing the majority of The Events Company’s events, she also took the lead on planning several of the in-house events held at our sister company, event venue SKY Armory. Alyssa was initially hired as an intern, but it was very quickly apparent that she could handle much more responsibility and was hired full-time before her internship was over.

Alyssa just moved on to a new adventure: she’s joined her father’s company where she will learn the business and be groomed to take the reins someday. Before she left, we asked her for her perspective on her time here.

What was your favorite event or type of event to work on?I loved planning the annual Driver’s Village Christmas Party! It’s such a great event they host for their employees. I love getting to bring the theme to life, starting with a blank slate, watching the kids get to experience the event with so much excitement!What other venues were your favorites to produce events at?I had the opportunity to go to so many amazing and unique locations and venues. My short list would include Suzanne’s Fine Regional Cuisine, the NYS Preparedness Training Center, the Oncenter, the Double Tree (I love working with Linda!), and the Landmark Theatre.

What was your biggest challenge?The trial by fire of being thrown into a planner position: I was hired as a full-time employee before my internship was even supposed to be over and as the only planner I had to hit the ground running and manage all of the details for each event. But it was also one of my biggest successes.What was your biggest success/proudest moment?Completing the very first event I was involved in from start to finish – the Mayor’s Ball. Not to mention the [Hancock] airport was a great venue to transform.

Favorite part of the job?Getting to work first hand with clients and bringing visions to life!

Least favorite part of the job?Late night (or should I say early morning) load-outs.

What’s the most valuable lesson you learned in the last three years?Don’t procrastinate! It will come back to bite you… or at least cost you extra money.

What is the strangest or most original thing you ever had to do for an event?Making a chuppah out of a bride’s grandmother’s wedding dress.

What will you miss most about TEC?My work family, although I know we will stay in touch.

Music is a powerful tool for conveying thoughts and emotions. Weddings are undoubtedly emotional events and couples often spend a lot of time thinking about the type of music they want to play at their reception.

With the 2017 wedding season gearing up, we went right to the source and asked three local DJs we often work with what they’re seeing couples choose for their first dance and what their go-to songs are to pack the dance floor.

First Dances

The first dance song often holds special meaning for the couple or the lyrics give a little insight into the way the couple views their relationship. Cindy Ormond of Ormond Entertainment finds that even couples who don’t typically listen to a lot of country music select country songs for their first dance. “It’s likely because country song writers pen powerful love stories which perfectly express wedding day emotions,” she notes.

To find unique first dance songs that aren’t “overplayed,” many couples are searching YouTube and finding original songs or uploads by new professional or amateur artists who have covered a popular song in a very stripped-down manner (say with only an acoustic guitar). However, Bill Milham of Black Tie Entertainment warns that most of these YouTube videos are of very poor audio quality and the legality of ripping out the audio is questionable. Listening through very small speakers on your phone or computer will not show the audio limitations that exist when these YouTube tracks are played through a large PA system.

Need some first dance song inspiration? Here’s what some Central New York couples will be dancing to this year:

“At Last,” Etta James

“Then,” Brad Paisley

“The Luckiest,” Ben Folds Five

“Over and Over Again,” Nathan Sykes

“From the Ground Up,” Dan & Shay

“Yours,” Russell Dickerson

“Still Falling,” Hunter Hayes

“Wonderful World,” Sam Cooke

“Your Song,” Elton John

“Thinking Out Loud,” Ed Sheeran

“How Long Will I Love You,” Ellie Goulding ​

Dance All Night

After the formalities are out of the way, high energy songs get people moving. “I stress to all of our clients that their goal should be to include music for everyone they invited. Some of that may have to be during cocktail hour & dinner, but it can really make a person's night just to hear a few songs they absolutely love,” says Brian Simons of Visa Versa Entertainment.

Selecting music that appeals across generations often means choosing a middle ground of current hits and classics. “A trend that's been going for the past few years, and I expect to continue, is the popularity of 90s - 2000s pop/hip-hop for dancing,” says Brian. “It's old enough and well-known enough that the people in their 40s-60s know and dance to it, and recent enough that couples and their friends can agree on it as well.” That means songs from The Spice Girls, N’Sync, and the Backstreet Boys are coming back, as well as other favorites.

Bruno Mars continues to have lots of appeal at wedding receptions. Bill Milham says, “Although released late last year, “24K” by Bruno Mars is still THE go to song that has the most multi-generational appeal and is a slam dunk for getting people dancing. It’s the kind of song you want to be careful to play at the absolute apex of the evening!”

Keep your guests on their feet with:

“Can’t Stop the Feeling,” Justin Timberlake

“Uptown Funk,” Bruno Mars

“Shut Up and Dance,” Walk the Moon

“This Is What You Came For,” Calvin Harris ft. Rihanna

“Shining,” DJ Khaled ft. Beyonce & Jay Z

“Don't Let Me Down,” Chainsmokers

​“Crocodile Rock,” Elton John

“Oh, What a Night,” The Four Seasons

“Hypnotize,” Notorious B.I.G.

“Let's Get Married,” Jagged Edge ft. Run DMC

“Let Me Clear My Throat,” DJ Kool

​Are you a sports nut? Cindy Ormond often sees couples select their team’s favorite anthem to get the crowd amped up. “’Shout’ for the Bills, “Sweet Caroline” for Red Sox fans, and of course, “New York, New York” for those who cheer the Yankees – these are dance floor winners every time when played for the right audience,” she says.”

Don’t think you have to save all these songs for after dinner, either. Bill Milham recommends sprinkling these songs into your cocktail hour music in addition to other upbeat tunes: “Cocktail hour is much more energetic, boisterous, and loud than many realize and the music should match this energy coming from your guests,” he says.

What song always gets you moving? Let us know!

]]>Wed, 05 Apr 2017 14:40:43 GMThttp://www.theeventscompany.com/blog/wise-symposium-inspires-local-women-entrepreneursAt a time when there are 9.4 million women-owned businesses in the US, women entrepreneurs are a necessity for economic growth. Here in Syracuse, the WISE Women's Business Center (WBC) - a center that provides information, resources, and support for local women entrepreneurs - has served over 8,000 clients since 2006.

With that many past clients, there are so many stories ofsuccessful business women who, thanks to WISE WBC and the WISE Symposium, received the support they needed to start and grow their business.

Since we have been involved with the WISE Symposium for so many years, we wanted to highlight the impact the Symposium and the WBC itself have had on women in our community.

Cathy was looking to start a business on a shoestring budget. "I was looking for something that I could do, something that I was good at and I would really enjoy doing. I narrowed it down to cookies because I have always loved to bake, and I thought I could perfect my recipes and be successful with them." She started baking cookies and selling her goods at farmers markets and other events. "The demand for my cookies became so great that I began taking samples to area restaurants and retail stores. I started to get local accounts that I delivered cookies to each week." When she wasn't sure if that's the direction she should stay in, she turned to the WISE WBC for help and guidance. "I met with Maria Wiklund, she was wonderful and very encouraging, she told me that I had developed a great niche market and should stick with it, and she offered to help me with a marketing plan. With Maria’s encouragement, I felt I was on the right path."​In December of last year, Cathy opened Cathy's Cookie Kitchen in downtown Syracuse. "It has been successful beyond my expectation, and it continues to grow each month," says Cathy.

Additionally, the Wise Symposium inspired Natalie and Jennifer, two women entrepreneurs who opened their bakery The Sweet Praxis in November of 2016. (Watch how they started). Lorna Oppedisano of Syracuse Women Magazine (SWM) sat with them for the April issue, here's what they told her about WISE Symposium, which they had learned about from a flyer.“It was really transformative for me,” Jennifer said, “because I’d never been around that many empowered women who just have this creative passion, and are so proud of what they do, and eager to share their knowledge with each other.”

​Lorna writes: She (Jennifer) hadn’t yet met Joanne Lenweaver, the director of the WISE Women’s Business Center, but remembers seeing her speak at the event. That day reassured Jennifer that she and Natalie were on the right track. “I left feeling like, ‘Oh my god, we can do this,’” Jennifer remembered. “I was like, ‘People do this kind of thing all the time. And we know what we want. We just have to get it done.’”

So what is it that you want to achieve? What's your dream? What venture did you always want to take? Or maybe you're unsure what the next step for your business is, perhaps you need advice from someone who has walked the talk... Come to the WISE Symposium, be inspired by the speakers, be inspired by the women in the room, be inspired to go for your big idea...Who knows?

]]>Tue, 10 Jan 2017 14:46:04 GMThttp://www.theeventscompany.com/blog/corporate-parties-and-how-we-do-themIt is well known in our office that Alyssa, our senior planner, is a big fan of corporate parties! She absolutely loves working with clients to understand their needs and wants, and then plans an event that knocks their socks off. Weeks prior to the event, you see her shopping online for the event, buying props, backdrops and decor elements that fit the theme.

In this blog, we'll be featuring Pyramid Brokerage, one of our repeat clients who hire us to plan and produce their annual sales and awards meeting. Every one of their meetings carries an inspirational message or a takeaway for their employees. That message is what sets forth the planning process for us, from it we derive ideas for speakers as well as theme and decor.

Let's show you exactly what we mean.

For our client's 2016 annual sales meeting, the message was passion! Harley-Davidson came to mind as one of the most inspirational brands out there. From its first bike in 1903 till today, the brand is able to withstand competition (over 200 companies make motorcycles in America) throughout its 100+ years, and is still going strong.

As you can see from the pictures, we set to design the stage, the room, the tables and chairs to reflect the theme. With a Harley-Davidson bike on stage, black and orange linens, creative and funky centerpieces, the space was transformed into a Harley-Davidson haven! "That's what we do best, we take a single idea, and build a beautiful space around it. Transforming spaces is our niche" says Nicole Samolis, CSEP, our Founder and Creative Director.

Another year, the message our client chose was: Dream, Achieve, Believe. We were happy to find speakers that so aptly embodied this message. The Beekman Boys. Josh Kilmer-Purcell and his partner Brent Ridge - the former an advertising executive, the latter a VP of Healthy Living for Martha Stewart Omnimedia- both lost their jobs in the recession of 2008. To make things worse, they had bought a farm in 2007 as a getaway from their busy NYC lives. With both jobs lost, their farm was facing foreclosure. They started to think of ways to make their farm profitable, like making soap and cheese and selling their products. The magic happened when they both took part in CBS's The Amazing Race. Not only did they finish the race, they won it, along with 1 million dollars which they used to pay off their farm! They have built an empire of healthy living, and a very profitable business indeed!

The decor, lighting and centerpieces were inspired by the Beekman Boys farm and one of its products, tomato sauce!

This last example we're sharing hits pretty close to home. For this annual meeting, the message was "Totally Engaged, Fully Committed, Now is The Time". Nicole, our founder, thought of her father, Spencer Thew, who is a successful entrepreneur, a businessman, a college professor, and he happened to complete an Iditarod in 1993. He lived the message that our client wanted to convey to his team! He has so much passion, that at 75 years of age, he has been chosen to participate in the Sleddog World Championship! With him as the event speaker, our vision - decor wise- was pretty clear. We went with an iditarod-themed corporate event, with a sled on stage, huskies, and a floor-to-ceiling snow backdrop.

Whether you're planning an annual meeting for your employees, a customer appreciation event, or a team-building activity, we're here for you! We bring over 20 years of planning experience, we know how to plan events that WOW. Call us for your event needs, we'll do all the work while you take all the credit!

September 2016 marks our 20th anniversary. It was back to school time, and Nicole's youngest son, Sean, had just started kindergarten. Looking to start her own business, Nicole read numerous books about emerging industries, and seeing that events management was a developing one, she decided to give it a try...the rest is history.

We thought we'd put together a timeline of the journey over the past 20 years.

1996: The Events Company was established as a DBA. The original name was Events Unlimited. However, when Nicole went to register the name, it was already taken. This prompted a quick payphone call (no cell phones back then) to Nicole's husband to ask if he had another idea for a name. Kevin tossed out The Events Company, she shouted the name out to the clerk who looked it up, said it was available, thanked Kevin, hung up the phone and continued registering the business.

Our first bridal couple, Jill and Ted got married on August 16th. Ted’s family was Greek and instead of throwing plates, they threw dollar bills at the couple.

1998: Nicole installed 200 chair covers and ties for a wedding, that would equate to 200 squats in a row. She could barely walk the next day, that’s the day she decided to hire a team to help with load-ins and load-outs. 1999:Planned the wedding of Deborah Blanchard (Daughter of Ken Blanchard, a management guru and author of One Minute Manager and other books) in Skaneateles that got a lot of attention and press coverage. There was a micro-burst that stormed through Skaneateles as guests were arriving to the church. To this day we still talk about the near disaster from the storm and the importance of having the right event team.

​2000: Planned the first Coaches vs. Cancer Basket Ball Gala with the American Cancer Society and Juli Boeheim.

Opened our office in Downtown Syracuse.

2001: Our first employee, Kelly Adams (now Taylor) was hired. She was fresh out of college and willing to do anything you asked her to do. Planned the opening event for the Fenner Farm Windmills with the Secretary of Energy. This was our first event that included coordinating with the Secret Service. ​​

​2004:Moved offices to Harrison Street.

Kevin Samolis (Nicole's husband) joined the team. 'Best decision ever! It was great having someone to strategize with, a person who had the same goals but approached them from a different perspective. Plus, Kevin will take on any task that I prefer not to do…' says Nicole.2006:Planned our first event out of Central New York in New Orleans. 2007:Planned our first event out of the country in Cancun, Mexico

Launched our Design and Production Division offering clients who didn't want planning services but wanted decor offerings. Despite of slowdown of the economy, we still saw double-digit growth.

2008:Expanded our offices to include an Event Showroom.2009:Earned the Certified Special Event Professional (CSEP) Designation. 2010:Social Media came onto the scene and Nicole wanted tolearn more about it, so she launched the BizBuzz Social Media Conference.2011:Hearts were broken when The Events Company (TEC) team member Sean Samolis (and youngest son of Nicole and Kevin) passed away unexpectedly. In tribute to Sean, the TEC team now wears tie-dyed t-shirts as their load-in/out uniform.​

2012:Planned our first event on 2 islands. A wedding for 500 guests included barges to get the goods to the island, and Uncle Sam Boat Tours to get guests to the islands.

2014: The Events Company gets a ‘sister company’ with the opening of SKY Armory. The Events Company still plans events in other venues. ​

​2015:The Events Company starts to create its own events using SKY Armory as a host venue. Our events include BizBuzz Social Media Conference, Night Market, He Said Beer She Said Wine, Little Black Dress Event, New Year's Eve Bash, and St. Patrick's Day Parade.2016:It’s been 20 years – doesn’t seem like it. It’s been a fabulous journey and we have had the opportunity to create amazing events with some really cool clients who were open to our zany ideas. We’ve met some great people and made a lot of friends along the way. We thank you for entrusting us with your events.The Next 20: Who knows where this journey will take us, but know that we are always committed to the WOW!

Author

​As an entrepreneur, I like staying on the forefront of trends and seize opportunities that keep my businesses moving forward. Remember when there was MySpace and then Facebook and you started hearing about ‘social networking’ and wondered what people really meant by that?I wanted to explore how ‘social networking’ could help expand my markets and grow my business. When I couldn’t get enough information, I decided to do what any forward-thinking entrepreneur and event planner would do – create a conference to learn what I want to learn! We reached out to our colleagues who were in the web and digital marketing fields, BizBuzz was conceptualized, and we held our first conference in 2010.​

BizBuzz Speakers​

Fast-forward to 2016, so much of what we do to market our business, and even how we do business is now social-media based. It’s no longer enough to have a company Facebook page and a LinkedIn profile. You have to have a strong social media presence with engaging content while remaining authentic, you need to dig deep into analytics to better reach your customers and understand their needs, and you may have heard that experts predict all content will be video by 2018. Many of us are hiring Social Media Managers to be an integral part of our marketing teams. Instead of newspaper clippings and articles, we now talk about social media engagement, reach, trending hashtags, and Snapchat stories. Every day it seems like there is one more platform we need to be on – Instagram, Snapchat – where does it end? It doesn’t.

We know we're not alone in these endeavors; keeping up with the latest in social media is crucial for every business. Whether you are an entrepreneur, local small business owner​, a social media practitioner, or a marketer, if you want to widen your brand's marketing reach within your ​community and beyond, you better be at BizBuzz on 9.29.I’ll see you there. ​​​Nicole

]]>Tue, 09 Aug 2016 17:19:33 GMThttp://www.theeventscompany.com/blog/infinity-golf-tournament-raises-6000-in-support-of-cny-youth-rugbyMonday, August 1st, the day of the golf tournament, started off with early morning rain and thunderstorms. We were, however, determined that nothing was going to dampen our day! The tournament started at 12:30 pm and by that time, the sun peeked at us slowly, transforming that day from rainy to gorgeous!

Even though this was our fourth annual golf tournament, it all really started ten years ago. Rugby was a new sport on the scene for Syracuse youth, Coach David Bunyan (A teacher at Jamesville/DeWitt School District) and Coach Peter recruited a handful of fearless, thrill-seeking high school youth and got them hooked on Rugby! Sean Samolis, Kevin and Nicole’s youngest son, was a founding member of the Silverbacks Rugby team. They remember the days of no uniforms, needing to borrow players from the other team (Rugby is a gentlemen’s sport) and games played in fields of mud. Being the new kids in the league, they lost a lot of games but they played with a whole lot of heart and even more determination.Sean loved playing Rugby, and when the world lost this amazing kid in 2011, hearts were broken. Our friends at Ale n Angus Pub wanted to create a golf tournament in his memory. Kevin and Nicole couldn’t think of a better cause to support than a team and sport their son was passionate about. ​

​A lot has changed since that time, the Silverbacks has grown into a powerhouse team, with a girls team now! The money raised helps the CNY Youth Rugby Team by covering equipment cost, uniforms, maintenance and even scholarships. This keeps the teams and sport growing in Central New York.

The CNY Youth Rugby coaches receiving a check for $6,000, raised during the Golf Tournament

We would really like to thank the teams that signed up and supported the Infinity Golf Tournament, making it our most successful one yet with $6000 raised. Twenty teams gathered on that day to play golf, have fun (and beer!), and support our local CNY youth rugby. ​